Dave Bing: Detroit Works Project to focus on three westside 'demonstration areas'

View full sizeMLive.com | Google MapsApproximate locations of Detroit Works Project "demonstration areas" announced by Mayor Dave Bing on July 27, 2011.

Mayor Dave Bing rolled out the first major policy initiative of the Detroit Works Project today in southwest Detroit.

Bing said the city won’t eliminate or cut services to any section of Detroit, nor will they force anyone to move. However, local officials will concentrate revitalization efforts on three “demonstration areas” in what Bing describes as a short-term intervention strategy.

The demonstration areas are “Southwest/Hubbard Farms” (bounded on the north by Vernor and Toledo, I-75 to the east and south, and Woodmere to the west), “Boston Edison/North End/Virginia Park” (Boston to Grand Blvd and I-75 to Linwood), and “Bagley/Golf Club/Palmer Woods/University District” et al (Eight Mile to Six Mile and Woodward to Wyoming).

"Moving forward, in this administration, our focus is going to be on the neighborhoods," said Bing after noting that efforts to revive downtown and Midtown have taken on a life of their own.

After six months, the Bing Administration hopes to expand the effort in these demonstration areas to other parts of the city.

Specifics as to what those efforts will entail remains hard to pin down, but generally speaking, the city says it intends to “leverage foundation, state, federal, and non-profit investments along with city resources” and “engage and work closely with CDCs, nonprofits, block clubs, and churches to gain more knowledge about the markets in each area."

With the city's ever-tightening budget and Bing's promise not to diminish public service to the rest of the city, much of the resources to improve demonstration area neighborhoods will likely come from private-sector and non-profit sources. That's a challenge the Kresge Foundation's Rip Rapson says they're ready for.

"We've been approached just while we've been standing here by the southwest Detroit community to fund two or three different things," said Rapson at the announcement. "I think it's going to take a little bit of time to settle...people have to begin understanding what their highest priority investments are--how much of that can be covered by new federal money, how much can be covered by existing city services, are there ways the foundation community can fill gaps or provide leverage money. I think there will be lots of opportunities for us to figure who fits where."

The Detroit Works Projects expects the new demonstration area policies will be “implemented” within 14 days.